


Sense of Belonging

by redluna



Series: Kinktober 2019 [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Possessive Behavior, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 04:21:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20901563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redluna/pseuds/redluna
Summary: There are some parts of himself that Dorian would prefer to hide. But Cullen has a tendency to bring out the worst in him (or, best, depending on how you look at it).





	Sense of Belonging

Despite his tendency towards self-praise—or, perhaps, more accurately,  _ because _ of it—Dorian was quite aware of his own faults. Enough so, that he saw little reason to drag them up for closer examination without an outside force; more often than not in the form of a truly good bottle of wine. There was only so long that one could consider all the things that growing up  _ different _ in Tevinter could ingrain in a person without things taking a turn for the maudlin.

It’s why he still, from time to time, found himself a bit in awe of what he has with Cullen. A lifetime of  _ settling _ for things done only in dark corners tends to do that to a person. That he has a boyfriend, who not only wears the title like a mark of pride, but comes up with excuses to kiss or touch him with open ease in public still has yet to not feel like the best sort of gift.

The only bit of unfairness, really, was that Cullen was entirely unaware of just what he put on display simply by  _ being _ .

To be fair, Dorian was the last person who could claim not to understand the appeal. Having a man who was all muscles, rugged features, and golden curls so determined that the real revelation was yourself had quite an effect. Even more so when played against Cullen’s shy, near boyish charm.

It left Dorian in circumstances like this far more often than he would like. 

He only had himself to blame for suggesting a bar, of all places, but it had been close enough to his work that he had hoped for it to work to his advantage. Maybe if he had shrugged off the determination to wrap up the last bits of his project, he wouldn’t have arrived to find Cullen already with someone perched in the spot that should have been Dorian’s own.

Just like that the crowd in the place felt more restrictive than comforting. Particularly when each person who refused to shift over to make room felt like a personal affront. There was only so long he could watch another man ease steadily closer to Cullen. By the time the stranger’s thigh had wound up pressed alongside of Cullen’s without any form of excuse other than  _ intent _ , Dorian was already using his elbows to nudge his way through.

His various etiquette teachers would have been about as appalled with him as the woman whose foot he had just tread on.

“Not married then?”

For once, the pink edging along the arch of Cullen’s cheekbones seemed to have more to do with drink than actual embarrassment. “Not yet,” he admitted, “but I am already taken.”

“Yet you’re here all by yourself?” There were fingertips pressing against the knuckles of Cullen’s hand now; a sign so obvious that even the most obtuse man couldn’t claim not to recognize. And, yet, Cullen made no effort to pull away, face as placid as ever. “With a partner that would let you out on your own like this...you might as well be single.”

“Is that so?” It was probably overkill to press himself against Cullen’s back all at once, but it settled what was trying to tear its way out of his chest in the best possible way. “Bit of a hard sell that.”

The man had the audacity to purse his lips at him, chest coming close to puffing up. If he hadn’t recognized the Orlesian accent before, he certainly did now that he was closer. “I’m not in the business to explaining myself to intruders.”

“Good to know we’re of the same mind,” Cullen said. It was more than enough to bring Dorian’s heart to a stutter in his chest until he realized that Cullen was pressing back against it at the same time, having snatched his hand free of the other man’s hold. “But thanks for helping me prove a point, regardless.”

Dorian certainly hadn’t expected to feel any sort of kinship towards the man at the bar, but it was difficult to pretend that he wasn’t stuck with the same wide eyed, near gaping expression. He managed to get his mind back on track just in time to find a convenient wall to press Cullen in against. The grin that spread across the man’s face as he did so only made things worse, honestly.

“What, dare I ask, were you thinking?” he demanded, in a hissed whisper. “If things have been unsatisfying in some way then  _ tell _ me, don’t go…” His brow furrowed when he realized that Cullen’s shoulders were shaking under a silent laugh, pressing forward so that his mouth could chase after the pulse on Cullen’s throat. It was satisfying, if not entirely enough to soothe the itch under his skin, to hear Cullen’s sharp intake of breath. The hands that shot out to grab at his hips helped a bit better.

“I don’t want to stray.” Cullen hummed out a quiet, soothing note, thumbs skating under Dorian’s shirt to rub easy circles against skin when the other man tensed. “I… I wanted you to prove that I  _ couldn’t _ .”

It took Dorian a few long blinks to process what Cullen meant and, even then, he felt a bit lost. “And you couldn’t have simply  _ asked _ ?” he said.

“Wanted it to be authentic,” Cullen replied, leaning in to kiss the growing pout from Dorian’s lips. “How about this? I promise to ask about the collar, at least.”

Dorian only realized how sharply his hips had jerked forward when Cullen chuckled. “You can’t do things like this to me here,” he warned. “This place isn’t… People don’t do  _ this _ here.”

Cullen cast a near lazy glance around the sleek, modern lines of the place, taking in all the well-dressed people pretending not to look their way. “So,” he drawled, “you’re saying I  _ shouldn’t _ offer to go down on my knees in the bathroom for you?”

Dorian wasn’t entirely sure his brain could put up with so many short circuits in under an hour. “We’re talking about this later,” he said. “If only so I can be sure you haven’t been replaced by a far more suave doppelganger.”

“Should I be offended?” Cullen asked, eyes sparkling.

“I suppose not,” Dorian conceded, as he caught Cullen’s hand in his own. “Not when you’re still  _ mine _ regardless.”

**Author's Note:**

> What happens when one of the prompts for the day was "cuckholding" and all I could think of was how much Dorian would probably enjoy proving to other's instead that, "Yes, this person is _mine_."
> 
> Dual wielding lists ([here](https://redxluna.tumblr.com/post/187613997330/pabstbeerpussy-october-is-approaching-which) and [here](https://redxluna.tumblr.com/post/187758007350/kinktober-2019-prompt-list)) this year because I am nothing if not madcap.


End file.
